Law Firm Overview

The law firm of Robert Plotkin, P.C. specializes in counseling clients seeking cutting-edge advice on procuring, enforcing, and defending against software patents. Robert Plotkin, Esq. is an MIT graduate and an adjunct faculty member at the Boston University School of Law, where he teaches an advanced course entitled "Software and the Law."

Attorney Plotkin's unique approach to and theory of intellectual property protection for software is reflected in his publications in leading law journals and presentations at legal conferences worldwide. His clients, ranging from Fortune 50 companies to individual inventors, benefit from his distinctive fusion of innovative legal theory with sound and careful legal practice based on years of experience. He has written and spoken internationally on topics including software patents, First Amendment protection for computer software, trademark and domain name disputes, patent licensing, electronic court filing, and electronic privacy in the workplace.

Attorney Plotkin has an extensive background in computer science shared by few other attorneys. He holds a degree in Computer Science and Engineering from MIT and has worked as a professional computer programmer. Attorney Plotkin continually updates his knowledge of the latest advances in computer technology through representation of clients in the computer industry and through his academic research on computers and the law.

The key to a mutually-satisfactory attorney-client relationship is clear and efficient communication. Attorney Plotkin's extensive experience with computer technology enables him to communicate with computer scientists in their own language. This results in higher-quality work product at a lower cost, and with less client effort, than can be obtained through larger, less-specialized, law firms.

Intellectual property law is a complex and rapidly-changing field. By specializing in intellectual property protection for computer technologies, Attorney Plotkin is able to stay abreast of the latest changes in the law and thereby to counsel his clients on cutting-edge issues both efficiently and with a high degree of competence.

The firm provides services including patent application preparation and prosecution, trademark application and prosecution, copyright registration, and counseling on patent infringement and validity. Attorney Plotkin is licensed to practice law in Massachusetts and New York , and is registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The firm is available for direct client engagement or as a cooperating attorney on software-related matters.

Areas of Practice

• Patent Prosecution
• Patent Opinions
• Computer Law
• Litigation & Appeals
• Trademarks
• Intellectual Property Law
• Patents
• Copyright
• Trade Secret
• Infringement Opinions
• Validity Opinions

Honors and Awards

• Go-To Law Firm for Leading Technology Companies, American Lawyer Media, 2008

Published Works

• A History of Software Patents, book chapter in Handbook for the History of Information Security, Elsevier Science, 2007
• Software Patentability and Practical Utility: What's the Use?, International Review of Law, Computers & Technology, Volume 19, Number 1, March, 2005
• Fighting Keywords: Translating the First Amendment to Protect Software Speech, University of Illinois Journal of Law, Technology & Policy, Fall, 2003
• From Idea to Action: Toward a Unified Theory of Software and the Law, International Review of Law, Computers & Technology, Vol. 17, No. 3, 2003
• Computer Programming and the Automation of Invention: A Case for Software Patent Reform, UCLA Journal of Law and Technology, 2003
• Electronic Court Filing: Past, Present and Future, Boston Bar Journal, May/June, 2000
• Patents, Patent Licensing and Indemnification on the Internet, International Bar Association Journal, April, 1997
• "Doing Business on the Internet", (Co-Author with Ronald E. Myrick), International Bar Association, May, 1997
• First Amendment Challenges to the Membership and Advocacy Provisions of the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996, Georgetown Immigration Law Journal, Summer, 1996
• "Special Considerations for Patenting Software", Newsletter of the Solo & Small Firm Section of the Boston Bar Association, December, 2006

Classes and Seminars

• Lecturer, Software and the Law, Boston University School of Law Boston, MA - Spring, 2004 - Present
• "Intellectual Property Primer for Non-IP Lawyers", (Co-Presenter with Zick Rubin, Esq.), Practising Law Institute (telephone/online seminar), July 19, 2008
• "Intellectual Property Primer for Non-IP Lawyers", (Co-Presenter with Zick Rubin, Esq.), Boston Bar Association, Boston, MA, April 29, 2008
• "Computer-Generated Inventions: Risks and Ethical Implications", MIT Technology and Culture Forum, March 6, 2008
• "When Machines Become Creators: Computers Capable of Generating Inventions and the Implications for Law and Society", Stanford University Law School, Stanford Center for Computers and Law, November 12, 2007
• Interviewed on The Chet Curtis Report on New England Cable News regarding Robert Plotkin, P.C.'s transition to a paperless office, May 9, 2007
• Guest Lecture, Patent Law, "Foundations of Business and Entrepreneurship", (Co-Author with Stephen Schiffman and Steven K. Gold), Olin College - Spring, 2007
• Guest Lecture, Patent Law, "Foundations of Business and Entrepreneurship", (Co-Author with Stephen Schiffman and Steven K. Gold), Olin College - Fall, 2007
• Guest Lecture, Patent Law, "Foundations of Business and Entrepreneurship", (Co-Author with Stephen Schiffman and Steven K. Gold), Olin College - Spring, 2008
• Panel Moderator, "Legal Perspectives on Software Patents", conference entitled, MIT and Boston University School of Law, November 16, 2006 - November 17, 2006
• "Software Patents: A Time for Change?", MIT and Boston University School of Law, November 16, 2006 - November 17, 2006
• Panel Chair and Presenter, "A Corporate Roundtable: Converging Technologies vs. the Patent System, NanoBusiness 2006 Conference, NanoBusiness Alliance, New York, NY, May 18, 2006
• "Reinventing Intellectual Property Protection for Software", Keynote Presentation at Intellectual Property Rights on Software: The Road Ahead, a symposium, Centrum voor Wiskunde en Informatica Amsterdam, Netherlands, October 20, 2005
• "Should Computer-Created Inventions be Patentable?", nformation Ethics Roundtable, Montclair State University, Upper Montclair, NJ, April 29, 2005
• "Program-Created Inventions: Software Patentability and Beyond", Works-in-Progress Intellectual Property Colloquium, Boston University School of Law, Boston, MA, September 10, 2004 - September 11, 2004
• "Computer Programs: Inventions Without Inventors?", 2004 North American Computers and Philosophy Conference, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, August 4, 2004 - August 6, 2004
• "First Amendment Protection for Computer Programs: Implications for Scientific and Academic Speech", ACLU Science, Technology, and Liberty Committee, Boston, Massachusetts, June 16, 2004
• "Software Patents: A Proposal for Reform in Theory, Policy, and Practice", IEEE Social Implications of Technology Boston Chapter, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, Massachusetts, April 20, 2004
• "Software Patentability and Practical Utility: What's the Use?", BILETA 2004, University of Durham, Durham, England, March 25, 2004 - March 26, 2004
• "Professional Responsibility and the Emerging Ethics of Software Speech", Sixth Annual Ethics and Technology Conference, Boston College, Boston, Massachusetts, June 27, 2003 - June 28, 2003
• "From Idea to Action: Toward a Unified Theory of Software and the Law", "Philosophy and Computers" class, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, May 16, 2003
• "A Theory of Intellectual Property Protection for Software", Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, May 15, 2003
• "From Idea to Action: Toward a Unified Theory of Software and the Law", BILETA 2003, Queen Mary, University of London, Greenwich, London, April 14, 2003 - April 15, 2003
• "Fighting Keywords: Freedom of Functional Expression in Software", 3rd International Conference on Law and Technology (Law Tech), International Society for Law and Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, November 6, 2002 - November 8, 2002
• "Intellectual Property and the Process of Invention: Why Software is Different", the 2002 International Symposium on Technology and Society, IEEE Society on Social Implications of Technology, Raleigh, North Carolina, June 6, 2002 - June 8, 2002
• Panelist, "Symposium on Internet Crime", Greater Boston Police Council and Babson College, May 23, 2000
• Panelist, Professional Liability Underwriters Society (PLUS) Seminar on Electronic Privacy, May 16, 2000
• "Security Interests in Intellectual Property", (Co-Author with Ronald E. Myrick and John B. Pegram), Suffolk University Law School, September 26, 1997
• "High Technology Law in the Twenty-First Century", Suffolk University Law School, September 26, 1997
• "Whose Law Governs the Internet?" (Co-Author with Gilbert H. Hennessey), International Bar Association, May 8, 1997 - May 10, 1997
• "Doing Business on the Internet" Conference in Ankara, International Bar Association, May 8, 1997 - May 10, 1997

Pro Bono Activities

• Judge, Giles Sutherland Rich Memorial Moot Court Competition, 2007 - Present
• Judge, Albers Moot Court Competition, Boston University School of Law, 2008
• Member, ACLU Science, Technology, and Liberty Committee, 2003 - Present
• Judge, Giles Sutherland Rich Memorial Moot Court Competition, 2004 - 2005
• Advisor, MIT Prelaw Advisors Program, 2005 - Present
• Mentor, Boston University School of Law Mentoring Program, 2001 - Present

Representative Clients

• 3Com Corporation
• ZINK Imaging, Inc.
• Multimodal Technologies, Inc.
• VinCon Research Enterprises, LLC

West Practice Categories

Business & Commercial Law, Internet, Estate Planning, Family Law, Intellectual Property Law, Copyrights, International Intellectual Property, Patents, Trade Secrets, Trademarks, Internet - Cyberspace, Computer Law, Litigation & Appeals, Patent Litigation, Real Estate Law, Science & Technology Law